This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #TidyTreatment #CollectiveBias

Did you know I’m a zookeeper? Well, not really but some days it sure feels that way. With four cats and one dog in the house, I am always on poop patrol or food duty. Most days I don’t mind but every now and then it can become overwhelming.

Especially in the smell department (if you know what I mean). Garfield, I’m looking right at you.

A few weeks ago, in the middle of the night, Garfield managed to bust open a package of cat treats using his paws and claws. Now before you accuse me of picking on the ginger cat, please know that both my husband and I have caught Garfield in the act. He’s a repeat offender and we swear he’s part monkey. Anyway, this overnight treat buffet turned our two litter boxes into Grand Central Station. P.U.!

That was the day Teddy and I escaped to PetSmart.

As Teddy and I soaked in the fresh-smelling air, I was reminded of something. With multiple pets in the household, I have to stay vigilant about two things:

cleanliness

organization

Without cleanliness, my home would look and smell like a zoo for sure. To prevent this, I commit 15 minutes a day to basic cleaning tasks (disinfecting, vacuuming, etc.,). Since I keep my home organized for both humans and pets, 15 minutes is usually all I need. If you’re wondering what I mean by “organized for…humans and pets”, keep reading.

3 Key Organizational Tips For Multi-Pet Households

1. Pet Beds

We have one bed for each pet and each bed is placed in different locations throughout the house. This gives the cats (and the outnumbered dog) several choices on where they want to snooze. In addition, two of the pet beds are placed in unusual locations. One sits on top of our small beverage refrigerator and the other sits atop a cabinet. Now before you call me crazy, please know that I have a perfectly good reason for doing this. Not only does this placement reduce clutter on the floor (one less thing the humans can trip over) but it gives the cats (Bandit, Gracie, Spitfire, and Garfield) a place to escape from the dog. Bonus: I know cats in high places.

Moving on…

If you’re a multi-pet household like we are, consider placing a pet bed somewhere up high and unexpected. In other words, think like a cat! 😉

Bandit

2. Litter Boxes

You should have one litter box for every two cats (preferably, one litter box for every cat). One of our litter boxes is kept in a closet and the other one is kept in the second bathroom. Both locations are low-traffic areas which means the humans are less likely to interrupt the business at hand. Most of us like to do our business in private and cats are no exception.

Also, scoop out the litter box waste at least twice a day. You don’t want your cat soiling your carpets and a clean litter box is key to preventing this. Using a dirty litter box is equivalent to us using a dirty public toilet. Ewww, gross.

We’re currently using TIDY CATS® Free & Clean™ Unscented Clumping Litter in our litter boxes. It’s a brand new product that you can find at your local PetSmart. TIDY CATS Free and Clean is dye and fragrance-free but still tough on odors. It contains activated charcoal which absorbs and destroys odors without masking them with a perfumey scent.

Teddy has high hopes!

As the chief sanitation engineer/poop scooper, I’m excited about the reduced odor. Teddy is pretty happy as well because he knows less stinky time means more fun time!

Let’s go to the spa! ↓

Free Gift with Purchase for a limited time:

Buy one (1) 35-lb. TIDY CATS® Free & Clean™ Unscented Clumping Litter at PetSmart, and get one (1) $5.00 code for a Spa Session (one transaction, 1/8 through 4/8/18). Send a photo of your PetSmart TIDY CATS® Free & Clean™ purchase receipt to 30364 with the code “GIFT” in the message portion, between January 8th, 2018 and April 8, 2018, and you’ll receive a special $5 Spa Session gift card!

One of the things that has improved cat-cat and cat-dog relations around here is giving each pet their own food bowl in their own separate space. When those cans are opened or that food bag rattles, each pet heads to their designated area to get their eat on. This feeding arrangement has reduced mealtime aggression and lessened the occurrences of the dog eating the cat food and vice versa.

Gracie

By the way, if your cats haven’t tried Purina’s Cat Concoctions canned cat food yet, head to your PetSmart and get it now. Our cats are obsessed with this stuff. Obsessed!

Seriously though. You never know what fun goodies you’ll discover at PetSmart. And if you need more pet beds, food bowls, toys, or treats (Garfield!), they’ve got that too.

What daily activity do you do with your pet(s) (e.g., brushing, playing fetch, outdoor walks) that lets them know how special they are to you?

About Kim Dickerson (Winter + Sparrow)

Kim is the creator and founder of winter + sparrow. She's been blogging since 2009 and loves to create. In her spare time, Kim likes to explore Virginia + Washington D.C., go thrift store shopping, read historical fiction books, herd cats, and watch British TV. Kim is a mom, grandma, wife, and multiple sclerosis warrior. She's also a loser. A loser of 100 lbs that is! Want to find out how she did it? Click here to learn more and discover the interesting field Kim previously worked in.

Reader Interactions

Comments

Nice to know there is another chronic illness warrior doing pet stuff out there too. I have Fibromyalgia, Degenerative Disc Disease, Scoliosis, Vertigo, TMJ, Optic Migraine and Raynauds Disease, Mixed Connective Tissue Disease… yeah I have all the fun stuff. In my home we make ESAs and CPCs for people who need them with kittens. 🙂 we have rescued over 90 within the past 2yrs and adopt them out when they found their furever home. We call our home Fostering by Mixie. And I give out tips on how to bond with their new furbaby and etc to keep them happy in their new home including showing new owners how to trim their kittens/cats claws. I am a big time Purina consumer and Tidy Cats Lightweight litter consumer as well.

I have 12 cats and two Big dogs. It takes me longer to do my chores in the morning but they are worth it. I also use tidy cat in my 10 litter boxes. It seems like all I do is scoop the poop. But beilive it or not when people come over nobody can beilive I have all those animals I love Tidy Cat.

Wow! 12 cats is a lot of work but bless your heart for taking care of all of them. So many people assume that cat owners houses smell but you and I are proof that this is false. Thank goodness for quality cat liters like Tidy Cats.

We have had a few cats over the years and I wasn’t aware that we needed more than one litter box per cat. I was always cleaning that thing and it was never clean!! We don’t have fur babies anymore but I’m going to tuck this post away in case we decide to adopt a new cat.

I am very particular about litter box maintenance here, I’ve never had a cat with a UTI and I don’t ever want to- it’s just good common sense to keep those litter boxes clean! Many multi-cat homes forget you should have 1 per cat, great call-out! #Client

Thank you, Jenna. Spitfire is a Maine Coon mix so if the litter box isn’t pristine, he’ll most likely get a UTI. Those trips to the vet can get expensive so I do my sanitation duty and keep it clean. 🙂

I give you so much credit – 4 cats and a dog! I’d LOVE to have that many, but some days just one seems enough, lol. Also, we live in a small apartment and would probably go crazy! I admit, I need to get better about more frequent scoopings 🙂 Loved your post – so fun!